Mom was tired of telling her kids to shower every day—came up with an epic flowchart to rest it for once and all

It can be a huge hassle for parents to nag their children to do their everyday tasks. One mom was also tired of being the "shower police" at her house and telling her preteen children to shower every day. So she came up with a creative shower flowchart that would help her kids decide whether they have to shower or not. The mom and podcast host of 'Your Grandparents did what,' Maggie Wachter, shared her ingenious technique for people to copy on TikTok, where she goes by @imdoinggreat. The video received over 2.9 million views and parents were super excited about the idea.

"I am so tired of being the shower police in my house. So I made this handy flowchart for my preteen kids," Maggie began. "Feel free to copy." The flowchart began with the headline, "Do I need to shower?" First up, the mom asked her kids if they had gym or played a sport that day. If the answer was yes, they were supposed to shower. If the answer was no, they were supposed to point out whether they had showered the previous day or not. If they answered negatively, they were supposed to shower. But if they did take a shower the previous day, they were supposed to answer another question. "Did I have a long day and would benefit from the calming properties of a hot shower?" If yes, the kid could go and shower and use a shower steamer to enjoy their shower.

If the kid answered no, they were supposed to go to their mom or dad for a "sniff test" that would likely result in a shower. The mom had hoped that her idea would work, per TODAY.com. But even she was surprised by how effective it turned out to be. "Immediately, they were super receptive. I was like, 'What is happening? I can’t believe it’s working.'" Her 9-year-old daughter started following the chart immediately. Her 11-year-old son needed a little bit of convincing at first, but then he started following it too. "Of course, he took every opportunity to have me sniff his armpit. [I would say] 'My sweet, lovely child, you smell. You need to shower,'" Maggie recounted. "They find it funny and they like having the chance to make their own choices."

People in the comments section of the video were really impressed with the mom's method. @mama12bird wrote, " It’s not the illusion of choice, it’s teaching them that there’s more than one reason to do something good for themselves, both explicitly and implicitly." @justbringmetacos commented, " Might I also add, a separate flow chart for 'Do I need to wash my hair' because my kids are constantly asking to skip that step and before anyone comes for me, saying you don’t need to wash your hair - I have teenaged soccer players. They train 1-2x per day. They need to wash their damn hair."

@munsterrosie joked, "Just wait till they’re teens and showering x3 a day, for at least 15 minutes and there are never clean towels. You’ll dream of these days." @acallidryas remarked, "This is brilliant and I need to copy it. Why do I have to argue about showering if they were at soccer camp in the summer?" @ks_tbr shared, " My five-year-old acts like the fact we take showers every single night is a brand new thing that we spring on him, at the last moment, every night of our lives. I’m tired." In another video, the mom shared how she labelled shampoo and conditioner bottles so kids didn't get confused because of the small font.

You can follow Maggie Wachter (@imdoinggreat) on TikTok for more family-related content.

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